MASQUERADE
by JOVANKA
Summary: STELLA AQUIRES A SECRET ADMIRER AND WHEN SHE KNOWS WHO IT IS SHE'LL THANK HIM PERSONALLY.....WITH A BRICK! A LITTLE VALENTINE'S DAY FUN.


**MASQUERADE**

**LEGAL STUFF:-NOT MINE - ALL CHARACTERS PRESS GANGED INTO THIS COMPLETELY AGAINST THEIR WISHES. THE POEM IS BYRON'S "SHE WALKS IN BEAUTY."THE SONG IS SINATRA'S"ALWAYS." **

MONDAY 9TH FEBRUARY……

Stella Bonasera yawned wearily she'd been woken at 3am that morning to attend a stabbing outside a Manhattan night club resulting in Stella spending her morning sifting through a particularly disgusting set of dumpsters. Then just to make her day complete that afternoon she'd been called to the suspicious death of a sewer worker still resident in his sewer. The Icing on the cake was Mac, he was attending a conference in his native Chicago and wouldn't be back in New York till the following Monday; Stella already missed him like crazy even though she'd seen him only a few hours ago. So here she was 9.30 at night still at work damp, smelly, exhausted and miserable; home she decided a long hot bath would fix at least two thirds of her ailments and the rest well a phone call was no substitute for the real thing but at least she'd get to hear Mac's voice wouldn't she?

Heavy hearted Stella wondered into her office ready to collect her belongings and head home something was different years of CSI work had honed her senses to such a degree that she felt the change before she actually saw it. It was lying on her desk the most exquisite long stemmed red rose bud Stella had ever seen, gently she picked it up with both hands "Perfect" She murmured to herself. Underneath the rose bud lay a pristine white envelope with 'For Stella' neatly written on it, carefully replacing the flower on her desk Stella picked up the envelope. She didn't recognise the handwriting at all and other than being unsealed the envelope offered no further information. Sliding the card from inside the envelope Stella examined it closely and began to read out loud to herself "She walks in beauty, like the night of cloudless climes and starry skies and all that's best of dark and bright meet in her aspect and her eyes" she recognized the quote immediately Byron as beautiful as the rose in it's own way and a long standing favourite of hers. "Well Bonasera it seems we have gotten ourselves a secret admirer now doesn't it? I only hope that's a good thing" She thought out loud "I really do" even if it did feel warm and fuzzy inside.

TUESDAY 10th FEBRUARY……

Ok so this whole secret admirer thing was now officially driving her nuts; she had tried to put it to the back of her mind, forget all about roses and Byron (not to mention warm fuzziness) but it was damn near impossible to do. So for the second night in a row she had been awake at 3am chasing evidence; logic dictated that who ever had left the rose had both access to her office without arousing suspicion and knew her well enough to know her literary tastes i.e. one Lord George Gordon Byron Esq. So a mercifully short list then at least: - Flack, Danny, Hawkes, Adam, Sid and of course Mac. Stella knew who she wanted it to be with all her heart (since he was the usual cause of any warm fuzziness she might feel) but his was the first name she could cross of the list Mac had left for Chicago long before her mystery man had left his gift for her. Pacing up and down her bedroom Stella came to a decision she was a Csi a damn good one at that and if she could unmask murderers, rapists and other assorted bad guys on an almost daily basis then one loved up(not to mention deluded) cop/scientist/me should be no match for her should he? Then she was going to thank him personally for driving her to distraction preferably with the first heavy blunt object she could find.

Later that day Stella began her investigation starting with her rose; there was nothing out of the ordinary about it or any way to tell were it had been bought the same applied to the card and envelope. So no trace evidence meant desperate measures and so Stella began to dust the rose "Stella the DNA from the Robinson case is back" Lindsay appeared out of no-where. "Damn" Stella muttered to herself and tried to find somewhere anywhere to conceal the rose et al. "Stella why are you dusting a rose" the young woman asked innocently, "Double Damn" Stella muttered under her breath "What?" asked Lindsay completely baffled by now. "It's for ….er the Byron case" Stella said the first thing that came to mind (warm fuzziness strikes again she supposed) "Byron case? What did he do prune the vic to death or something?" Lindsay grinned "Or something" Stella nodded.

As it turned out the rose yielded no further evidence the only finger prints anywhere on it being Stella's own "Smarty pants aintcha?" She muttered at the rose "Well we'll soon see about that." Time for plan B the card and its envelope still had to be examined didn't they? Like the rose the envelope was useless as evidence no finger prints or trace and unsealed meant no saliva to test; something about the card itself however caught Stella's eye something was amiss. The shape was not quite a perfect rectangle it had been cut from a larger piece of card she realised and if she could match it then she had a clue too Byron (might as well be Byron since she had no other name for him as yet.) Stella used every trick in the book and quite a few unwritten ones but finally she matched the card to it's origins a dress box; a very exclusive, very expensive dress box from an equally expensive and exclusive dress store - Chez Monique of 5th Avenue.

It was late when Stella arrived at Chez Monique and at first she thought the store had closed for the night but as she peered in through the window Stella saw a store assistant still inside; the woman looked up and spotting Stella waived her cheerfully inside. "Bon soir Mademoiselle Bonasera" She greeted Stella happily, "You know my name?" Stella asked in surprise; "Oui you look just like your photograph" She replied, "What photograph?" Stella wondered "The one Monsieur showed me of course" She shrugged matter of factorly." "Monsieur? By…. You've seen him? What does he look like is he tall? Middle aged? Did he speak with a Brooklyn accent?" Stella gabbled excitedly all at once. "Non" the assistant waived a finger at Stella "Monsieur left specific instructions you are to be given your gift but nothing else" With that she produced a cream coloured dress box tied with a pink ribbon from behind the counter and presented it to a startled Stella "Bon chance Mademoiselle Bonasera" She said hustling her out of the door.

It had taken every ounce of self control Stella possessed (and then some) not to open the box there and then, but somehow she'd made it home (who'd miss a few stop signs anyway she reasoned.) Safely back in her apartment she placed the box gently on her bed and slipping on latex gloves with practiced ease undid the ribbon carefully and opened the box. Her dress! Her dress was inside; she'd been on a job a mugging gone wrong outside Chez Monique when she'd spotted it in the window and it had been love at first sight. "It matches your eyes" Mac had told her softly, "Maybe if I win the state lottery ….the thing must cost two months salary at least" She'd joked. Mac had been right about the dress though, the same perfect aqua as Stella's eyes; it was ankle length finest french silk with a side split on the right, backless and with spaghetti straps the bodice had been embossed with a brocade flower design in a darker shade of turquoise. Should be a perfect fit too Stella realized hugging the dress too her she'd dreamt of this dress (her and Mac out on the town Mac looking all James Bond in his tux) yep her warm and fuzziness levels were definitely rising again.

Carefully she hung the dress in her closet there had to be a card in the box she was sure of it, whoever Byron was he'd planned this all out well in advance obviously, returning to the box she spotted it tucked carefully in a corner. Deftly she removed it again the envelope said simply "For Stella" and again the envelope was unsealed, so for the second time that week she slid the card inside from it's cover and begin to read "Thus mellow'd to that tender light Which heaven to gaudy day denies. One shade the more, one ray the less, had half impair'd the nameless grace which waves in every raven tress…." Byron was continuing with the poem he'd quoted with the rose yesterday; their poem from now on she decided – her's and Byron's. The dress meant she could remove Sid, Danny and Hawkes from her list none of them had been there the day she had seen it. So that left just Flack and Adam trouble was even though she felt like she was walking on air at the moment every time she closed her eyes and imagined her Byron he always looked exactly like Mac Taylor.

WEDNESDAY 11TH FEBRUARY

So once again Stella found herself at the lab examining little pieces of card and accompanying envelopes; (she couldn't bear to test her dress…..bright pink finger print dust on her baby? Sacrilege no other word for it!) Like the day before the envelope offered no clues but under close scrutiny (she wasn't known in certain circles as Bonasera Queen of the UV light for nothing) the card revealed its deepest darkest secrets. Again the card had been cannibalized from a larger piece but this time instead of a dress box it had been cut from some kind of glossy pamphlet she was sure of it. Turning the card over in her hands she could just about make out the tips of letters and numbers along one edge so doing something clever (even if she did say so herself) with the electron microscope she identified her clue a train timetable. She leapt from her seat in a Eureka moment and automatically went to kiss Mac's cheek but her lips of course met with nothing but fresh air Stella sighed were was her boss/best friend/fantasy lover when she needed him? Even though he'd called her last night there was just no getting away from the fact she was suffering serious Mac Taylor withdrawal symptoms.

So that afternoon found her in Grand Central Station haranguing a rather mousy looking information desk clerk; "Good afternoon Miss Bonasersa you look just like…." "My picture yes I know" Stella interrupted her mid flow "Do you have something for me a package maybe?" She asked. "The gentleman said to tell you to go to the left luggage office and to give you this" the clerk handed over the key to a left luggage locker number 14209 "I don't suppose your going to tell me what he looks like are you?" Stella asked (couldn't hurt to try now could it she thought.) "Sorry Miss Bonasera he left explicit instructions not too on pain of death" She shook her head; "Worth a try" Stella shrugged and walked away.

The left luggage office was almost deserted apart from a rather tubby teenaged clerk who looked to have fallen a sleep at his post, Stella spotting several rows of lockers to her right tiptoed passed hoping not to wake him but when one eye peeped open in surprise unable to resist she grinned "Yes I look like exactly like my picture don't I." It took Stella roughly five minutes to locate 14209 hidden in the farthest reaches of the room way out of the range of prying eyes she realized "Byron this better not be pornographic" She muttered opening the locker door. Inside lay a cream shoe box tied again with pink ribbon this time Stella's curiosity could not be abated and she opened the box there and then. "Perfect!" inside where the perfect shoes to go with her dress the exact same colour with stiletto heels and her size too they were absolutely perfect a little too perfect since when did a man any man know anything about buying shoes?

The now familiar little white envelop was also there with "For Stella" written on it as always "Or softly lightens o'er her face; Where thoughts serenely sweet express How pure, how dear their dwelling-place." Their poem sent shivers down her spine and Stella felt her warm and fuzziness levels shoot sky high again. However her Csi sense took over and just wouldn't let go Men just didn't get the shoe thing they were genetically programmed to own two pairs only; one black pair and one extremely smelly pair of running shoes. Something was hinkey here this had all the hallmarks of a woman's touch; well then that left only one possible culprit didn't it? Adam had never had a girlfriend that she knew of in the four years they'd worked together and no man would ask his mom to by shoes for a woman now would he? So that left Flack and his co-conspirator Jess Angell; "Gottcha Byron" She hit the air in triumph first she was going to find Flack and then she was going to punch his lights out.

THURSDAY 12TH FEBRUARY

A pissed Bonasera was never a good thing the entire NYPD knew that and they also knew to stay well out of her way when she was in melt down but Flack wouldn't see it coming she'd made sure of that. Unable to catch up with him the day before Stella had arrived a full half hour before he was due to start his shift and hadn't budged from his desk since. Appropriately enough Flack arrived with Jess Angell good Stella thought with a fair amount of glee two birds with one stone! "Hel…." Flack never even got his words out; Stella's fist got there first and it made such a satisfying "Thwack" noise when it connected with his face she decided flooring the unsuspecting Flack. "What the heck did you do that for?" Jess asked crouching down over the flattened form of Flack "He knows perfectly well what he did and as for you Jessica Angell" Stella waggled her finger at the bemused Detective "Shame on you" With that she left head held high. "Ok what was that all about?" Danny Messer asked; he and Sheldon Hawkes had just had the best seats in the house for the worlds first Bonasera vs. Flack grudge match "Mac being in Chicago really must be getting to her" Hawkes shrugged.

It was an extremely happy Stella Bonasera that entered her office she grinned at every body she met along the way thinking of Flack's stunned expression, had he lost any teeth she wondered? Serves him right if he did she chuckled to herself. Then it began her Csi sense tingled someone had been in her office again; she could feel the disturbance in the air something was different but what? Her eyes fell upon the bookshelf in the corner she kept stuffed with scientific journals and Police procedural guides it had gained a new addition – brown leather bound book its pages yellowed with age. Byron! Byron's been here? How though? She hadn't left while late the night before (she'd spent nearly two hours talking to Mac via the internet Flack had left long before they had said goodnight) and she had been there when Flack had arrived this morning. Conclusion: She'd clobbered the wrong guy; Slouching down onto her chair Stella let out a slow groan "Oh F***K" just contemplating the amount of grovelling she would need to do to appease Flack and Jess made her curls ache and even worse still she had absolutely no idea who Byron was.

Well back to the drawing board then she decided and reached over to the book; it was a collection of love poems Donne, Keats, Shakespeare and of course Byron to name but a few. The book looked like an antique definitely not something you'd find in your local borders she mused, flicking through the pages she located their poem Byron's "She walks in beauty" the final lines "And on that cheek, and o'er that brow, So soft, so calm, yet eloquent, The smiles that win, the tints that glow, But tell of days in goodness spent A mind at peace with all below A heart whose love is innocent!" had been underlined and For Stella had been neatly annotated next to them. Stella felt her heart melt (that's what you get when you mix uber warm fuzziness with acute Maclessness) closing her eyes she could imagine lying in his arms whilst Mac read the words out loud to her. A two part clue! Her eyes shot open it was a double clue the book combined with the card in the shoe box she was sure of it; the shoes were currently in her closet stowed with the dress (she had intended to give them back to Flack well eventually anyway)but the card was in her desk. Stella leapt up from the chair the poem was now complete and presumably so was the game if she could solve the last puzzle then maybe she'd finally meet Byron- only problem was did she want to kiss him or kill him?

Stella placed the open book and the card together on her desk what was she missing? The last stanza of the poem had been highlighted as a whole where as the rest of the poem had been separated into pieces why? Six there were six lines of poetry underlined so the number six must be important some how but in what context? Stella checked over the card no numbers or letters this time and it didn't seem to have been cut from a larger piece either. She decided to try something else and ran her fingers across the card it didn't feel smooth to the touch it had been embossed, currently it was impossible to read but fortunately Stella dealt with the impossible every day didn't she?

FRIDAY 13TH FEBRUARY

It had taken several hours of painstaking work but she'd finally done it lifted a readable image from the card; of all things it had been an address for a downtown costume higher place so warily and just a little wearily Stella arrived just as the store opened for business. "Good Morning Miss Bon…." The clerk a greying middle age man with Bernie written on his name badge never got to finish his sentence; "Yes I look like my picture and yes I know you can't tell me anything or blood will run in the streets and no doubt you have a box somewhere with For Stella written on it…." Stella interrupted "So can we get straight to the box part please because this is getting really old?" "Finished" Bernie the clerk asked, "Pretty much yeah" She nodded. "Good do you have your reference code?" He asked, "Since when did hiring a costume require a reference code" Stella demanded to know. "Since I said so" replied the clerk folding his arms across his chest "No reference code no box period."

Briefly Stella wondered what the maximum sentence she'd would get was if she just shot the little obnoxious little jerk there and then; factoring in time off for good behaviour, extreme provocation and temporary insanity caused by now completely uncontrollable bouts of warm fuzziness/Mac cravings and with any luck no jury would convict (especially if it was an all girl jury.) "No I didn't know I needed one" Stella rolled her eyes; "Bye then" He said turning to leave; visions of bashing his head in with an extremely large baseball bat flooded Stella's mind. "Six" She almost yelled out remembering the poetry book; "Six what?" Bernie asked turning back to face Stella. Her sanity depended on this answer she knew, if she didn't get hold of the last box she would never know who Byron was and then they might as well give her the padded cell and matching jacket now because she couldn't stand anymore. "I'm getting old here waiting" Bernie sniffed, Stella took a chance hell she had nothing to lose apart from her marbles anyway did she? "Byron" She said, "Wait there" Bernie huffed and shuffled off into the back.

The final box like the others was cream in colour with a pink ribbon but much smaller about half the size of an A4 piece of paper Stella estimated and almost as thin, sitting in her truck she undid the ribbon and slid the lid off. Inside was an eye mask the same colour as her dress and shoes decorated with minute aqua diamantes and a matching feather trim "Byron has a lone ranger fetish who knew" She chuckled to herself. Instead of a card though this time was a pink envelop the size of the box; "Be my valentine" had been neatly written on it Stella let out a low groan "Idiot" she chastised herself the chase for Byron had so completely consumed her she'd completely forgotten it was Valentine's Day tomorrow. That explained an awful lot about the past week though didn't it but in her heart she only wanted one Valentine and he was somewhere in the wilds of Chicago discussing blood spatter patterns wasn't he? Opening the envelope Stella found an invitation to the NYPD's annual Valentine's Masquerade ball in her name; usually she and Mac went together (strictly platonic of course but not through want of trying on her part at least) this year however she had decided to stay home without Mac there just didn't seem any point. Byron obviously wanted her to attend; the dress, the shoes and the mask all made sense now. So be it she decided Cinder Stella would go to the ball to meet Byron whoever he was; after all he'd gone to so much trouble it would be unfair not too wouldn't it she reasoned even though she intended to break his heart and probably his jaw too.

SATURDAY 14TH FEBRUARY

By some quirk of fate Stella had been given the entire weekend off she wasn't even on call; she hadn't planned it that way but Mac had insisted on her taking some serious Stella time "Your working too hard" He'd insisted, "When was the last time you had two days in a row of work?" "When did you?" She'd countered. Right at this moment she was glad she'd been over ruled it was almost 10.30am and she was still in bed enjoying a well earned lie in. Till it was interrupted by a very irritating buzzing noise coming from her front door "Who is it" She mumbled groggily from her bedroom "Delivery for Miss Bonasera" A youngish sounding male voice called out in reply. Delivery? What delivery she wasn't expecting any delivery "I'm coming" Stella called back mystified, rubbing her eyes she padded to the front door "This better be important or somebody dies" She grumbled to no one in particular interrupting her first lie-in in weeks was a capital offence in Stella's book. She opened the door to find a delivery boy holding a bunch of long stemmed red roses tied with a scarlet ribbon outside her apartment; his face turned bright red to match when he saw her standing there in nothing but a chemise. "I ….er these are for you" He said giving her the bouquet then he bolted. "Ok I didn't think I looked that bad" She grinned staring at herself in the mirror "Hair's even more unruly than usual and no war paint on but still not that bad." Closing the door behind her Stella settled on her couch with the roses and allowed their sweet scent to fill her lungs; absolutely gorgeous just like the one she had been given on Monday and like earlier on in the week there was a small white card attached. "Happy Valentine's day Stella 7.30 pm be prepared" it said; "Prepared for what?" She wondered; Byron had not quite finished with their game just yet after all it seemed.

Stella had begun to prepare for the evening ahead indulging herself in an hour long bath complete with candles and a re-read of Jane Eyre's soppiest bits (it had seemed appropriate given the time of year) and she'd thoroughly enjoyed it. Her dress and shoes had fit perfectly (she had toyed with the idea of turning up dressed in t-shirt and jeans just to dampen Byron's ardour but it broke her heart to think of such a lovely dress gathering dust in her closet plus they probably wouldn't let her in the building with Battlestar Galactica stamped across her chest even if Apollo was cute.) Her hair was worn up in a loose French twist which gave her (she hoped anyway) an air of elegance and she'd finished of with short black velvet jacked and matching purse which now contained her invitation and her mask. "Ok Bonasera we're ready for battle" She said applying one last layer of lip gloss "About time too it's almost 7.30." As if on cue her door bell rang for the second time that day this time when she opened it there was a tall man dressed in a chauffeur's uniform waiting outside "Miss Bonasera? Your car awaits" He informed her "And no ma'am I can't tell you anything he told me not to". "I never said a word" Stella bristled as she closed the door behind her. Oh! What a car though, a vintage Rolls Royce was waiting for her when she got downstairs silver in colour with a blue lining it looked like something out of a 30's Hollywood movie which was exactly how Stella felt "Bette Davis eat your heart out" Stella smiled.

Stella could get used to all this pampering she decided; inside the car she'd found a glass of champagne and a row of love heart sweets spelling out her name in a heart shape; whoever Byron was he definitely had a flair for the romantic she decided. Unfortunately she couldn't image any of her suspects being so outwardly slushy, she sometimes thought she could tattoo I heart Mac Taylor on her forehead and he still wouldn't notice. Oh well then only one thing she could do now she supposed popping a sweet into her mouth lie back and enjoy the ride after all Byron awaits. She arrived at the ball a little before eight, giving the cloakroom attendant her jacket and purse she slipped her mask on "Let battle commence" She muttered under her breath as she walked into the ballroom. It looked like the entire NYPD was in attendance the ballroom was heaving with people all dressed in different types of mask; some she recognized instantly Flack was definitely here dancing with Jess Angell sporting a beauty of a black eye (PMS she had told him by way of explanation and he'd not asked any questions after that.) She also spotted Danny, Lindsay, Syd and Hawkes moving about. Then she noticed him, he was dressed in a tux like every other guy in the place but his face was completely covered by a white phantom of the operaesque mask and he was staring straight at her but most importantly he was wearing a perfect red rose bud in his lapel. Byron! It must be her eyes locked with his they were ocean blue she knew those eyes she was sure of it; suddenly he turned to leave Stella moved after him "No…..wait" She called out but collided with a partygoer in a Spiderman mask heading the other way. "Ssssorry……" Spiderman spluttered out in apology, "Adam is that you?" Stella asked craning her neck trying to spot Byron in the crowd "Stella?" Adam replied in astonishment "Wow you look real nice……. Ahem you're not going to hit me or anything are you?"

It was nearly 10.30pm and Stella still hadn't managed to catch up with 'Byron' again; shed tried to find him after finally disentangling herself from Spider-Adam (without any unnecessary violence she might add) but Byron had simply vanished into the crowd without a trace. Not that she hadn't had a good time this evening having danced with half the NYPD who knew Syd was a regular Fred Astair on the QT; but she longed to be with Byron she knew exactly who he was now and her heart skipped a beat every time she thought of him…..he done all this just for her! However he knew she knew but he was still hiding from her; she'd spot a red rose or a white mask and chase after it only to find thin air Byron was having far, far too much fun at her expense she decided so turn about was fair play wasn't it? So slipping away from the ballroom Stella retrieved her jacket from the cloak room and headed outside, she'd had enough of chasing after Byron all week now he could chase after her for once she decided.

The hotel hosting the ball was surrounded by flower gardens, wandering along Stella found the perfect spot to wait for Byron; a small alcove surrounded by roses with a small white bench inside and just far enough away from the ballroom that she could still hear music but secluded enough that they wouldn't be disturbed. Slipping off her mask Stella settled down to wait for him, she hoped he wouldn't be too long the mid-February air was chilling her blood but with any look she would have Byron to keep her warm soon. Two minutes later Stella heard footsteps approaching from behind her "Shouldn't you be in Chicago?" She asked without turning around. "Do you want me to be" Mac asked now minus his mask coming to stand in front of her "Besides Horatio Cane doesn't look as good in silk as you do" he said eyeing her appreciatively, Stella stood up so close to him he could feel her breath on his cheek smiling sweetly she let rip with her left fist but Mac's reflexes were lightening fast honed to perfection through years of Marine training and he grabbed hold of her hand before she could make contact. "Whoa there Rocky Bonasera" He grinned leaning over to kiss every one of her fingers one by one and then her wrist; Stella let out a low moan "I hate you Mac Taylor."

"Is that so? In that case…" Finishing what he was doing he grabbed her free hand and pinned them both behind her back; "Let me go" She squirmed she was so near now to him her lips almost brushed his and Mac couldn't resist leaning in for the kiss "You look absolutely stunning tonight Stella ……" He whispered; "Let me go…." She asked again if she didn't get out of his embrace now she knew she never would and Stella wasn't quite ready to surrender just yet. "No ……never" He was adamant, "Ok you asked for it" She fumed and jammed her left knee straight into his groin "Aagh" he groaned dropping her arms instantly. "What the hell did you do that for?" He yelled out staggering towards the bench and collapsing down; "The week I've had which you put me through I might add and you need to ask" She yelled back. "You didn't enjoy yourself not one little bit I suppose" Mac argued, "Not one little bit" She retorted "Not for one nanosecond, it's a wonder I'm not on a damn murder charged or sectioned…."She insisted. "Your lying I can always tell you curls fuzz……" He smirked." I assure you Detective Taylor nothing about me gets warm and fuzzy about you" She scowled. "Who said anything about warm and fuzzy" Mac teased sensing victory in the air "I didn't say anything about warm and fuzzy you brought warm and fuzzy into this." "Once and for all I am not warm and fuzzy about you….." She howled stomping over to him and sitting down besides him with a bump her arms folded over her chest "…….Period."

"That's a pity…." Mac came over all innocent like "A real shame" "It is why?" She wanted to know; "Because whenever we are together you make me feel warm and fuzzy inside ….. That's why I did everything I did to ask you to be my valentine. Will you Stell? Please be my valentine?" Inwardly Stella groaned he was absolutely impossible to resist when he grovelled "I'll think about it" She conceded. "That's not a no then" Mac was pleased, "It's not a yes either the jury is still out" Stella pointed out "Just as long as it's not a lynch mob" Mac shrugged "If you were any other woman on the planet you'd be flattered." "Well I'm not "She huffed, "And I wouldn't change that for the world" Mac smiled. "Tell me how did you do it all then? It must have taken you weeks to plan" Stella was filled with curiosity "And no way did you choose these shoes" She pointed to downwards to her feet; "Good leadership is the art of delegation besides your worth it too me" He explained with a chuckle; "They were in on it weren't they? All of them?" She was astounded "Only Syd and Hawkes they played delivery boys oh and Lindsay of course." "The shoes?" Stella asked "The shoes" He confirmed "Oh and she helped me choose one more thing close your eyes Stella no peeking" He instructed her.

Tentatively Stella closed her eyes "Don't forget now no peeking" Mac insisted and she felt him place something around her neck, something that felt like a chain "Can I open my eyes now" She asked "Yes" He replied softly. Opening her eyes Stella stared down at her chest she was wearing a gold heart shaped locket "Do you like it?" He asked nervous for the first time that evening "Mac it's beautiful" She told him lifting up to examine it more closely "Just like you…..read the inscription inside" He nodded. Gently she opened it "For Stella" it said "Be my valentine always Mac" "I'll be loving you always; with a love that's true always……" suddenly blared out from the ballroom, "Ok you arranged that didn't you like the other things" Stella smiled at him, "Not me not this time I swear" Mac put his hands up defensively "I must just be lucky I guess."

"When the things you've planned need a helping hand I will understand alway… always" wafted there way "Seems a shame to waste the moment though doesn't it?" He said standing up "Miss Bonasera may I have this dance please" He asked stretching his hands out to her "You may Mr Taylor" She said taking hold of his hands as she rose, Mac pulled her into his arms once more so her cheek rested on his shoulder "Wait a minute your not going to hit me are you?" He asked "Y'know you're the second guy to ask me that this evening" Stella told him "Really I should be surprised by that but strangely I'm not" He admitted, Stella just smilled as they danced their slow waltz together. "Not for just an hour, not for just a day, not for just a year …..but always" the song finished; "You still haven't answered my question Stell and it's almost midnight" Mac held her to him "Which one?" She teased "I love you Stella willyou be my valentine now and always?" He asked "I love you too I just wanted to hear you say it again she grinned "The answers Yes". "Always"He murmed brushing his lips against hers "Always" She told him deepening the kiss.

**FINIS**

**THIS TOOK ON A LIFE OF IT'S OWN HENCE THE LENGTH BUT I HOPE YOU HAD AS MUCH FUN READING IT AS I DID WRITING IT.**


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